Daily Briefing: Tuesday 20th April

Sony backtrack on closing PS3 and Vita stores

In a new official statement, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan said that the platform holder had made the "wrong decision" in planning to close those digital storefronts. The PSP store, however, will still close on July 2nd.

• According to Ryan, Sony's backtrack was down to those players who were "incredibly passionate" about the stores remaining open and Sony were happy to cooperate. Presumably, the neat little panic-induced sales bump helped a bit, too.

New Xbox update will show which games are suspended

The update, which is coming to both Xbox Series X and Series S consoles, will add a handy little indicator showing which specific games have Quick Resume active - making it easier for players to switch between multiple titles on the fly. The Xbox Guide will also clearly indicate which games support Quick Resume.

• The update is currently rolling out to Xbox Insiders in the invite-only Alpha Skip-Ahead tier, but should make its way to the general Xbox population before too long. The update also adds audio passthrough for media apps.

Avengers creative lead re-joins Naughty Dog

Shaun Escayg, who wrote and designed the maligned superhero brawler, has left Crystal Dynamics to re-join former employer Naughty Dog - where he served as an animator on The Last of Us and directed Uncharted: The Lost Legacy.

• Losing its creative head isn't the most encouraging thing to happen to Marvel's Avengers - a game that is in dire need of a bit of creative rejuvenation. The playerbase is still dwindling and, while there is new content on the horizon, getting things back on track will be difficult.

Yoko Taro is working on a "somewhat unusual" new game

The creator of the Nier franchise is famed for how bizarre his games can be, which is why it's particularly exciting that he is working on a new game that he describes as "off-beat" and "mysterious."

• More than that, though, Yoko Taro also has "no idea how to explain or sell" this new game, which certainly bodes well for its weird factor. The game's in-house devs do think it'll sell well though, which is probably a marketing plus.